Get Positively Positive for Positive Results in Your Job Search

What do all winners have in common? Answer: a positive attitude. It will separate you from the many who give up, settle for less or stay in unattractive situations.

Here's six guidelines to convert that negative energy into positive energy and get the fire of your job search rekindled.

1. Develop Positive Beliefs

Now is a good time to remind yourself of all the good things you have done. Write down positive things you've done and can do. Make it as long and complete as possible. You'll find it really reassuring. It will provide reinforcement for the positive attitude you must maintain. All you need is short sentences. Keep it simple.

2. Get Rid of Negative Beliefs

Having now built a set of positive beliefs about yourself, your second step is to get rid of beliefs that might inhibit your will to succeed. Get rid of the whole "The world is just grim and nothing is good" attitude. If you believe there is opportunity, then you will start seeing opportunity.

3. Set Your Expectations High

Our expectations affect what happens to us. Whether it's a leading scientist, educator, salesperson, movie personality or industry leader, you'll find that each of them had very positive expectations of themselves and their future. Picture yourself setting and achieving high goals. Positive visualizations can become a continuous process of reinforcement that will give you a new-found power and self-confidence.

4. Put Positive Expectations to Work

For instance, if someone tells you that an interview can take only 15 minutes, recognize it's a screening interview and build expectations that it will allow you to showcase your potential. Your expectations affect your actions and they affect your results. In that way, your will to succeed can and does make things happen.

5. Project a Positive Attitude

Talk to people about your positive expectations. When you do this, it reaffirms your commitment. Put yourself on the line. Let these ideas flow into your attitude, and begin to reach out and help others. Why? Once again, experts tell us this is a give-and-get world. Eventually, it reaches the point where it becomes obvious to anyone who meets you, that you project a lot of confidence about yourself. A spring in your step, a firm handshake, a confident look in your eye and comments that reveal a positive outlook can all help you project good feelings to the outside world.

6. Make Things Happen by Getting into Action

If you look at achievers in any field, you will find they are very active people. It's a simple fact that taking action is in itself like taking an energy tonic. Choose any kind of example you like. the head of a college breathing new life into an institution, a company president turning around a money-losing operation, a football coach turning a losing team into winners or a test pilot setting a new speed record. They are so intent on their actions, there is no room for doubt and indecision. You can do the same thing. 

The Filling out Applications Survival Guide

OK, part-time jobs, holiday jobs, full-time jobs -- a lot of them are going to put you through that fun, fun process of filling out applications. In some countries crimes are punished by filling out job applications. Alright, that's not true, but if you've ever filled out a bunch of applications, you could probably imagine how it would be possible.

To make the whole ordeal a little easier, here are some quick tips to make a painful process slightly less painless and more effective in getting you a job.

- Try to avoid filling out the application right there. You're only going to rush it and you probably don't have all the information they need on you. Go home; take your time; write neatly; use a pen you like instead of one of those imprisoned on a chain. When you're not in a hurry, you're going to fill out a much neater, more prepared resume.

- If a salary or pay objective is available, leave it blank. Putting something there might hurt your chances at negotiating to a level acceptable for you and also might cause you to be excluded. This is a discussion better for an interview.

- Be wary of questions regarding arrests, denial of credit, etc. Be careful about how you answer, and a lot of the time, it's illegal for employers to even ask these types of questions, depending on your state. 

- When asked to fill out that part where they want your entire employment history (complete with addresses), only give brief information and refer them to your resume, which brings us to the next tip.

- Attach your resume. This only gives them more background and makes you appear more professional.

- And when you return your application, also attach a cover letter. Make sure it states your qualifications and clearly illustrates your enthusiasm to work there. Doing this really sets you ahead of all the other apps. 

The Interview

Not only should you have confidence in your interviewing skills, that part of securing a job should be what you look forward to the most. Why? Because that is when you are going to sell what a hot commodity you are.

The interview is when you reassure the boss not only do they need someone with your skill set, they need you because you have the talents mastered better than any other person they might come across.

Don't go into an interview "cold." Practice before an interview. Think of points you want to make and the quickest, most eloquent way to make them. Don't babble on.

Think of questions that might come up in the interview and the best way to answer them.  Don't be on your heels in an interview, but don't be too aggressive either. Be confident and hold your own, just the way you would once you have the job.

5 Things the Unemployed Can Learn From Conan O'Brien

OK, the tweets, the commercials, the hype – all of it has been barreling down the PR tunnel and into viewers heads for months now. And last night viewers got their favorite pompadour back on their TV sets. Conan is back. 

After a much-publicized departure from NBC and their golden boy Leno, Mr. O’Brien found himself in a unique position of being without a job. Now while it may seem glib to compare the millions of Americans without a  job to a talk show host who received millions in compensation to leave when he had millions to begin with, there is a lot to be gleaned in Conan’s job search that could help the unemployed. 

1.       Positivity and Humor Do Wonders for the Soul

Remember to laugh and enjoy yourself. Seriously. It’s a lot easier said than done, I know. But negativity can be a powerful force that will just drag you down and others with you, and it’s certainly not going to help your job search. Force yourself to smile. 

2.      Go Where Your Strengths Are and Use Them

No employer knows your strengths as well as you. Recognize your strengths. Write them down. Once you’ve done that, begin identifying companies and industries that fit your skills. Be proactive and contact them before they advertise an opening. Being in a job where you contribute and use your abilities will only add to your happiness and self-worth too. 

3.      Recognize the Reasons You are No Longer at Your Other Job and What You Learned

Maybe you were laid off, maybe you were fired, maybe you quit. It’s easy to look back, but it’s always better to learn. Understand clearly your reasons for the departure from your former job and ask yourself what you took away from the experience. 

4.      Taking Some Time Off to Regroup Is Perfectly Normal – Just Make Sure It Isn’t Too Much Time

Reflection and reconsideration are now available with the time you have, and sure, you might want to really soul-search. Go for it, but that isn’t the same as being idle. Always keep your mind and eyes open and prepare resumes, cover letters and marketing plans to be ready when opportunity arises. Exercise, stay active, get dressed for work every day, even though you’re unemployed.

5.       Never Give Up

Who knows? Maybe someday you’ll be a star with a pompadour and a co-host too. But don’t let the attitude of ‘can’t’ take over your life. Never stop trying.

How To Get a Job Interview: Why Having 4 Resumes can Bring in 4x the Results

A common question is, "How do I make a resume?"

But the real thing you should be asking is, "How do I make three resumes?"

Right now you're probably asking, "Why do I need four?" or "Seriously, why all these questions?"

OK, no more questions, but let's talk about why having three resumes can enable your job search to get results and what types of resumes you'll need.

What's the Point? And Hey, I Thought You Said There Wouldn't Be Anymore Questions

You need the right tool for the job. That's a fact. And looking for a job isn't any different. There's all sorts of different scenarios out there: interviews, online ads, networking opportunities. So it's best to have a variety of resumes to fit each situation. That way, you'll be prepared and, at the same time, be able to identify the situation and understand which resume would be the best to present. The right tool for the job hunt if you will.

A Universal Resume

This is the most essential - a one-page document that serves to introduce you. A lot of people believe you need to tell your whole story in this initial resume. But you'll get more results if it's short, punchy and gets their attention. Make it an advertisement for the future not an epitaph for the past. It's never a bad idea to make it ready for keywords in case the employer uses scanning software.

An Internet Resume

This one needs to be even shorter, usually no more than two-thirds of one page. This is what you send in an e-mail or other means of electronic communication. It needs to be heavy in the keyword department and preferably in a common format such as a Word document so you can submit it via websites as well.

A Quick-Response Resume

The third resume makes it easy for you to respond quickly to emerging situations you read about. It positions the text on the right-hand side of the page so you can write handwritten notes and dispatch a resume with a cover letter.


An Interview Resume


This is the big one at about 2 to 3 pages. It is for a presentation during or after interviews when employers want to know more. It's designed to intentionally reveal more about you. Since it reveals more about your industry experiences, it could keep you from getting in the door if you used it up front. But once you've got the interview, this can be a more compelling sales document.

Another Day, Another Job Report; More Job Tips from the Front Lines for the (Still) Unemployed

Today, there was news that the job market added 151,000 positions last month, which makes it the best news since May when they grew by nearly a third of that.

The problem is that unemployment remained steady at 9.6 percent, leaving many still frustrated in their job search.

If you're one of those people, we'd like to offer up some unemployment advice for how to deal with being unemployed.

1. Get some support from your former employer
Counseling, maintaining benefits, networking, all of these are ways a former employer might be able to help. It's best to try to keep the relationship open and positive, so that they can help you in the future.

2. Build your job hunting knowledge and get your resumes created
You need to build your knowledge every day until you have a new job. Hit up help sites, learn new skills. You'd be really surprised at everything you can learn for free on the Internet.

3. Get yourself a mentor and become innovative
 Find someone you respect, and meet with them to discuss ideas, leads and potential people to contact. Make it a rule to select three new people or companies each day to explore possibilities.


4. Be active, proactive and positive
Devote two hours a day to sending out letters or putting out phone calls based on a specific plan of action. Exercise, positive thoughts come more easily to people who stay fit. 

Social Media and Jobs: When Virtual Life Meets Real Life

There was a story that came out a few years ago that established what many job seekers feared: employers are checking your Facebook page before they hire you.

No kidding. If you're a serious job seeker, you should already know that those bachelor party pics probably aren't the best thing to show the world, much less employers or colleagues.

But take it a step further, and consider that your Facebook page could be used as a platform to promote yourself and a networking tool.

Personal marketing websites are becoming more and more popular for both employers and those on the job hunt as a way to review employment history, skills and education.

Robert J. Gerberg from SET Careers, a personal marketing firm, says that creating a website to market yourself can significantly speed your search.

So be it Facebook, Wordpress or a site you develop, throw up your resume, your employment history and a little bit about yourself on the web, and when you reach out to employers, include a link to the site.

It's better than having embarrassing pictures on there. Just sayin'.